Beyond Chicken Nuggets have finally landed nationwide at KFC. How do they compare to other vegan fast food options?
It’s 2021 and it feels like Impossible Foods is taking over the world. The meat substitution company has been around for over ten years, established in 2011, but their world domination has only really kicked off in the last few years. In 2016, their flagship product, the Impossible Burger, was introduced to the general public. It started with humble beginnings in strictly vegan restaurants, then expanding to Mom-and-Pop shops looking to cater to the odd plant-based visitor. It was only in the last few years that fast food decided to dive into the vegan food trend, although they’re one of the biggest contributors to the worldwide meat farming crisis. Burger King was the first one out of the gate, introducing the Impossible Whopper in 2019, with Subway following close behind with their Impossible Meatball sub sandwich. In current time, Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle, Panda Express, Baskin-Robins, Del Taco and Carl’s Jr./Hardees all offer veggie options.
I only went vegan in 2019, but I had been vegetarian for years beforehand. I’ve grown up with almost a total lack of fast food, besides an offhand order of fries when they’re available (as long as they’re not flavored with beef … Looking at you, McDonalds). Unless I was eating a heavily altered salad, or a “potato sandwich” from Wendy’s, plant-based options were next to impossible to find. The option just wasn’t there. So, pulling up to a KFC drive-thru on the outskirts of Atlanta, it was hard to believe I was about to have a complete meal of vegan options.
I felt giddy going through the drive-thru. There was a numbered order on the faded outdoor menu. No alterations. No worry of accidentally getting a smear of mayonnaise or a sneaky piece of cheese. A vegan KFC chicken meal … Who would’ve thought?
The wait was long. Long enough for the teenage employee to ask us to pull to the front and wait for our food there, out of the main carline. My excitement outweighed any annoyance I could have about the situation, although we ended up waiting in the parking lot for about 20 minutes. But my beloved plastic bag of food came soon enough and I was very excited.
The combo meal consists of six or 12 Impossible nuggets, a soft drink and Secret Recipe Fries (which are also vegan). But unless you brought your own vegan ranch like I did, you’re stuck dipping your nuggets in ketchup or hot sauce, which all contain animal products.
For a meat-eater, the Impossible nugget’s shape may appear strange. But for a vegan, the uniform, rounded square looks like the microwaved chicken we’ve been eating at home for years. It’s almost comforting, being able to open the classic KFC box and not have to worry if it’s real chicken or not. When my boyfriend accidentally opened my meal instead of his, he immediately passed it to me. “That’s definitely yours,” he said, recognizing the Impossible Nuggets as imitation instead of anything real.
The taste is similar to real chicken. I haven’t had chicken in several years at this point, so of course, I found the slightly rubbery nugget terrific. It was wonderfully crunchy, fried like a real wing then breaded in the classic KFC secret recipe. It harkened back to the kids meals I enjoyed growing up, years before any alternative diets. It was still not quite chicken, but that’s probably the point. I haven’t had meat in a really long time and I couldn’t imagine how I would react if I bit into a completely realistic piece of “meat.” A photocopied nugget could potentially ward off the vegans and vegetarians who have grown to hate animal products. These KFC nuggets are a meat alternative, which is probably better than a meat replacement.
I ordered the 12-count meal, and ate eight while sitting there. (Whether I ate the other four while driving home is undisclosed information.) It’s obvious that I liked it and for the first time in my life, I wanted to go back to KFC. I, along with thousands of other plant-based people, will be returning to a restaurant that they would have never visited in the first place. It’s an experience we haven’t had since childhood and it ended up being kind of special for me. Just that alone makes me believe that KFC made an Impossibly Good Decision.
